swamp_thing Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 For each of us there are probably many different variations to the answer for this question. They will probably all differ slightly from everyone elses. To sporterize a rifle is to make it your own. We do not want an original, all matching, just as it was dropped by some dead soldier rifle. What we want will vary with each of our taste, and this is precisely what makes them appealing to us. Many times we are asked what we think of a persons ideas on building a sporter rifle. Why is it that many if not most times there are those that try to convince the asking party that they could get one already done cheaper, perhaps even a commercial rifle instead? I don't mean to flame anyone here and have no intentions of doing so. Folks, it goes without saying that if someone wants to build a sporter rifle and do it right the cost will exceed what they could buy a new one for. That is not the point in most instances. We wish to build to have our own personalize rifles, in which we have devoted our blood, sweat, money and skills into. When it is completed we usually have a rifle that many others have contributed thoughts into. For many at least some of the work has been farmed out to a gunsmith somewhere, yet we have done the vast majority of it ourselves. True, we have made mistakes, had to replace a few of the parts that we learned hard lessons on and even lived with some of the not so perfect outcomes. They might not shoot sub moa on the first attempt, or in some cases ever, but they are our own. The greatest part of sporterizing is not cost savings, or quick gratification, but rather the love for the process to begin with. Anyone can buy a new RemWinSavage at the local gun store, but is there heart and soul in it? Lets try to be careful so as to not come off sounding like we don't support sporterizing one's own rifles here. While I have nothing against warning one as to the potential costs and safety of such, we are here to help each other and should do so. Again, this is not a flame on anyone here, as I consider this site and the people here to be of the greatest around. I just don't want to come off as discouraging ones dreams and wishes. swamp thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 If I could buy a factory made rifle,and pay 10 or 20 bucks on it when I have it,I'd probably get in trouble paying on several guns at a time.I like saving up my coke money until I have enough for a stock,then save for a Davis bolt,and so on until I have enough parts to put a gun together.I even get a kick out of hunting for parts.Everyone needs to be creative at something.Working on guns keeps me out of the pool halls.Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notalbert Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 I am not a purist, in any sense of the word....so I do not care whether anyone chooses to "sporterise" his/ her property. As for myself, I would not sporterize any rifle that was all-matching. It just so happens that the Yugo M48 I have now doesn't have ANY matching numbers. Still, my intention was to make a good shooter of it, without deviating from the standard military configuration (except, perhaps, the sights). This did not prove to be possible. So, in the end, I made a sporter of another military stock (the original stock was not good)....and glass-bedded the action....and free-floated the barrel. I also changed the sights. Now, the rifle shoots as per it's potential - and shoots very well. In summary, sporterising, for me, is only a means to the end of improving the function of the rifle, in a technical sense. I see no other real value to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbamauser Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 The first one I did I just cut down the stock, filed the steps down , drilled and tapped it, welded a new bolt on and glass bedded it. in 8x57 its as accurate as the commercial 70 and 77 I've had, if I would have wanted to stop there it would have been a great value for the money, but once that came out good I got hot to try some of the other stuff I read about on a post real similiar to this one but I cant find it anymore .If I factor in the tools I have so far (which arent anywhere near what I need) I can't say its Cheaper, but even after some mistakes getting into my first rebarrel job(no patience , not the best homemade barrel and action vises) I really enjoy it. I just made an action into a paper weight but I started on a new one this weekend and from experience I got of off this site I'm in a better position when I get to removing the barrel again, (bolt and bottom metal are done from last one). There is a real satisfaction in looking at a even pieces when there finished and knowing I did it my self. and now I will never forget An action vise, barrel vise, patience are all thats necessary to remove a mauser barrel.(I don't like $105 lessons) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spec4 e4 Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 I like to buy Century u-fix-em lot and see how many that I can get out of the five. Then I used the rest for custom rifles. "Killing two birds with one stone". I hate to chop up an perfect good rifle but if there is something wrong with it or cost to much to fix the rifle up. Chop Chop. I just like to fix things. My wife hates it when I buy them cause she will not see me till I get them fix and stripped down. spec.4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonthehunted Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 Its fun. I like getting EXACTLY what I want in a rifle without having to pay what the big companies charge. I like the satisfaction of shooting one hole groups with a rifle I built. makes me all tingley inside Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doble Troble Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 Turning crap into gold is magical. Too bad it costs so much gold . I get the tingly feelings sometimes too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorgansBoss Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 Same reason people take perfectly good cars, motorcycles, etc. and "customize" them! I think someone above mentioned "personalizing" the rifle. That's one take, but I simply like working on guns. I like experimenting. I like things that are unique. I also like classic guns of the early to mid-twentieth century - and I can't afford to buy many of them in top notch condition. Hence it's either build them myself or restore something others have deemed too far gone to be valuable! Yes, I sporterize Mauser rifles. I also restore (and modify) other rifles and shotguns. I get immense pleasure out of taking a rusted, broken old veteran and turning it into something attractive AND useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscoedoh Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 Why do we sporterize? Here's my thoughts: I have always been a "hands-on" type of guy. I do all my own auto maintenance and home repairs. Hell, I'm even a stained glass artist by trade - it doesn't get much more hands on than that! Furthermore, I've always tried to build my own if I thought I could. So, back in 2001 when I was looking to purchase my own rifle for deer hunting, a friend and local gunstore owner convinced me to take a look at Turkish Mausers as a means for a college student to have his own rifle. Since I'd have to build it, this appealed to me greatly. I found Steve Wagner's site around this time and once I ordered my M48, I was off the races. Along the way, I found this site and got firmly infected with Mauseritis. Four years later, I've aquired a bunch of Mauser actions, books, tools, and knowledge and here in a couple months, I'll actually have two finished products to show for all my expeditures and questions. The M48 has been redone three times now and had the caliber changed. I've also converted a Turk to 30-06. I have at least seven more projects planned! Plus, they don't make rifles like Mausers anymore at prices we can afford. All the Winchesters, Remingtons, Savages, Weatherbys, etc all feel cheap to me. There's something reassuring about the feel of a Mauser. And you get a particular feeling of pride while standing over a deer you shot with a rifle you made, shot with ammunition you loaded. You can't buy that feeling - but you can make it! And what's more, with the crap shoot quality of mass production rifles today, I can achieve great accuracy, feeding, and reliability for around the same money as I can buy something off the shelf that probably needs tuned. Therefore, in my mind, the economics of building a Mauser make sense as after I've spent $700 on a new Winchester and paid a gunsmith $100 or more to go through it, bed it, and tune it, I could have built a damn fine Mauser that was done up right from the start. Done my way! With my hands! How can you beat that? That's why I sporterize. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonthehunted Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Plus, they don't make rifles like Mausers anymore at prices we can afford. All the Winchesters, Remingtons, Savages, Weatherbys, etc all feel cheap to me. There's something reassuring about the feel of a Mauser. And you get a particular feeling of pride while standing over a deer you shot with a rifle you made, shot with ammunition you loaded. You can't buy that feeling - but you can make it! And what's more, with the crap shoot quality of mass production rifles today, I can achieve great accuracy, feeding, and reliability for around the same money as I can buy something off the shelf that probably needs tuned. Therefore, in my mind, the economics of building a Mauser make sense as after I've spent $700 on a new Winchester and paid a gunsmith $100 or more to go through it, bed it, and tune it, I could have built a damn fine Mauser that was done up right from the start. Done my way! With my hands! How can you beat that? That's why I sporterize. Jason 5362[/snapback] thats what I meant to say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritz Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Why do I sporterize? Well, I don't do it too much anymore, even though the urge is still there. I believe one has to have the urge to do the first one, and after that, they are hooked. I got into this before most of you younger fellows. I did my first one in 1963. It was a Spanish mauser M93 in 7x57 Mauser. Followed closely by several other 7x57 rifles. Those were the most available at the time (a M98 was quite expensive). So there is unveiled another reason, and maybe at the time the main reason, for sporterizing. I was just out of high school, then into trade school, then into the armed service. None of these offered any financial benefits to me (although an education is priceless). It was to save the cost of buying a new hunting rifle. I also sporterized a few SMLEs but never got the hunting rifle accuracy out of them that I needed (I missed more deer with an SMLE than I ever had with a Mauser. Now I have so many sporterized rifles that I really have no explainable reason to sporterize another. But the urge is still there, and that is what it's all about. fritz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
724wd Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 WHY do i sporterize? i like to be different. Unique, even. I like to build and tinker. i enjoy the challenge of learning something new. i have no willpower over the purchase of firearms (unfortunately my wife does not suffer from lack of restraint, and reminds me of that often). All in all, i have desires that no current RemWinSavage can satisfy. there is just that feeling of holding a true piece of history in your hands. and modifying it! I appreciate the functionality of a battle-ready mauser, but i REALLY enjoy a beautiful piece of walnut wrapped around a deeply blued receiver, welded handle, scoped and loaded! (now i just need to get off my butt and finish one, so i can realize this dream!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clark Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 I can't hunt or shoot every day, but I can work on sporterizing every day. What else am I going to do with my life? Buy factory rifles and watch TV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Ever since Swampy brought up the question "why we sporterize",I can't stop wondering why.Out of the 25 or so guys I've worked with for over 20 years,each one has something they're better at than the rest.We've got mechanics,carpenters,an artist,computer whiz,pilot,art collector,cow man,horse feller,and drag racer.Seems we all hunt something to be good at to seperate us from the rest.I've always been the trailer building welder and a half ass(what they call a gunsmith,but I wouldn't make a wart on a gunsmiths butt)gunsmith.They impress me with their skills and I sometimes call on them to help me with things I can't figure out.Me repairing their guns kinda pays them back for drawing on their knowledge.I think most everybody has to find something that interest them and strive to be good at to smooth the rough edges of everyday life,and working on guns does that for me,and apparently I've found a group of guys and gals that think sorta like me.How many times have you been messing around the garage and see a gun part laying there that could use a little shinning,and once started,you forget about the other stuff you were doing,and before you know it,4 hours has gone by,and you think,"dang I enjoyed that"! Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamp_thing Posted October 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Wow, it is great to see all the different responses as to why we do what we do with these old guns. For me it is the need or want to have that special rifle(s) that suits my individual tastes and shootability. Not too many left hand models out there to begin with. Actually though, it is far more than that. There is something very relaxing and rewarding about taking that old rifle and building it into ones own style and then making the stock to accompany it. Once completed there is great pleasure in being able to shoot it and getting very accurate groups from what once was aging and ailing. You might say it is a personal love affair of sorts that brings out the artistic and mechanical abilities that we possess. I find few other things that can turn so many otherwise long winter days into enjoyment. Once completed they give great satisfaction to be able to show others what you have accomplished. I no longer hunt but I do enjoy getting to shoot as well as the countless hours spent making that special rifle. swamp thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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